Tolerance Without Compromise

Someone sometime coined a phrase that has much meaning: “tolerance without compromise.” To be tolerant of others it is not necessary to accept their beliefs or to live like they live. In fact, one may be tolerant of another person and still vigorously oppose everything pertaining to him – and yet grant his right to be what he is. “Tolerance does not mean that we must get on the band wagon, that we must think or act with the majority, or that we must compromise our own convictions. Tolerance may simply mean that we are aware that no two people think or believe exactly alike, and that all of us have a right to think and believe and live as we choose, if we can do so without interfering with these same rights where others are concerned. Even when a person opposes prevailing opinion, tolerance would respect his right to do so, so long as he is respectful and doesn’t wrongly interfere with others’ freedom. More than nineteen centuries ago the Savior of mankind suggested one way to tolerance without compromise when He thanked His Father in heaven for His followers who were in the world but were not of the world. Sometimes young people, and others also, make the mistake of supposing that tolerance means that we must do the things that others do, that we must live the way that others live – but in supposing this have failed to learn one of the greatest lessons of life: that a man may be tolerant without compromising himself or his background or beliefs or his convictions or his habits. Tolerance without compromising principles is not only possible, but it is one of the absolute essentials for the peaceful living of life.